Game-board.



No. 824,423. PATENTBD JUNE 26, [1-906- E. E. HILE. GAME BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrrcn.

GAME -BOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Jun 2 .9.06-

Applioation filed J1me 5, 1905. Serial No. 263,699.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDMUND E. HILE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful 1m rovement in Game-Boards; and I declare t e following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such -as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates in general to game apparatus, and more particularly to an electrical game-board.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a game-board in which the placing of a series of men in certain positions upon a board will close an electrical circuit and thereby ring a bell.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel game-board which may be used in playing interesting and amusing games and which will be simple in construction and inexpensive in manufacture.

My invention may be generally described as consisting in a game-board'the top surface of which is divided into squares ranged in parallel rows, alternate squares having central holes extending through the board, a bell located at the center of the board, contacts supported beneath the board around the holes therethrough, each hole having contacts extending from the same to the adjacent holes, conducting-strips extending entirely around the under side of the board and having contacts overlying the holes in the outer rows, a contact-plate located at the center of the board having contacts overlying the holes in the inner rows, a magnet for ringing the bell electrically connected to the contact-plate, a battery, one pole connected to the outer strips and the other pole to the winding of the magnet, and men adapted to be placed on the squares of the board and having conducting-pins adapted to be inserted through the holes, and thereby complete the circuit through the contacts engaged thereby whereby the bell is rung.

My invention will be more fully described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same is illustrated as embodied in a convenient and practical form, and in which Figure 1 is a plan view; Fig. 2, a sectional view on line 2 2 Fig. 3, a plan view of the under surface of the board, and Fig. 4 an enlarged side elevation of one of the contacts.

The same reference characters are used to designate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Reference-letter A indicates a board made f of any suitable materialsuch, for instance, ias woodand of any convenient size and :shape. The upper surface of the board is provided with squares arranged in parallel rows similar to a checker-board. Alternate squares in each row are provided with holes extending through the board, the squares through which holes extend in adjacent rows being staggered. By reference to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the first row A contains squares, the alternate ones having holes therethrough, while the squares having holes therethrough in the second row A are in alinement with the squares in the first row which do not have holes. The holes in the rows A A A A A, &c., are located in s uares corresponding to those in rows A, w Ie the intermediate rows contain holes arranged similarly to those in rows A T 1e nine squares at the center of the board are omitted, thereby formin a space upon which is located an electrical indicating device, such as a bell C.

Secured to the under side of the board, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, are separate contacts, such as shown at F, Fig. 4, extending between holes in adjacent rows. The ends of each contact slightly overlie the holes. Located around the outer rows of holes on the under side of the board are strips E of conducting material. The strips are electrically connected at their ends and are provided with contacts 6, the ends of which overlie the holes in the outer rows. Secured to the center of the under surface of the board is a con ducting-plate Gr, provided with contacts g, the ends of which overlie the holes in the inner rows.

Secured to the contact-plate but insulatedtherefrom, is a magnet D, the armature d of which is connected to the bell-clapper c, the latter extending through the board into position to en age the bell C.

A lead 1% extends from one of the conductin strips E to a battery H, from which anot or lead 7L2 extends to the windings of the magnet D. A third lead it connects the winding of the magnet with the central plate G. It will of course be understood that the magnet D is provided with the usual makeand-break device for vibrating its armature, and thereby causing the clapper c to successively strike the bell owing to the tension of the spring (1.

} Suitable men, such as B, are adapted to be placed upon the squares of the upper surface of the board A and are provided with contact-pins l) of a size to pass through the holes in the board and to engage at their lower ends the points of the contacts surrounding the holes. The men are preferably of different colors for the different players, the men for each player being suitably designatedas, for instance, by numerals from O to (9.7)

The contacts may be conveniently made, as shown in Fig. 4, with resilient ends and integral points intermediate of the ends to attach the contacts to the board.

The operation of my invention is as follows: When a series of men are located upon adjacent squares having holes in the several rows from the outside of the board to the cen tral space, a circuit will be closed, thereby ringing the bell. By reference to Figs. 1 and 3 it will be seen that men have been placed on adjacent squares in the rows from A to A thereby completing the following circuit: strip E, contact-point 6 thereof, contact-pin b of the man 1, contact F, contact-pin b of the man 2, contact F contact-pin b of the man 3, contact F contact-pin b of the man 4, contact F contact-pin b of the man 5, contact F contact-pin b of the man 6, contact F", contact-pin b of the man 7, contact 9 on the'central plate G, lead 7L3, winding of the magnet D, lead 71 battery H, lead 7% to strip E. The circuit of the bell C may be closed in asimilar manner by locating men on adja cent spaces in the several rows from the outside strips E to the center plate G.

My improved game-board may be used to V Y play a variety of interesting and entertaining games, the object of which is to make the bell, which I have designated Curfew, ring. The following rules may be followed in playing a game: Two to four persons may play the game, each player being supplied with ten men numbered from 0 to 9,

inclusive, each players men being distin- The first player begins by playing his man bearing the lowest number, the other players alternately following and playing according to the numbers on their men until all the men are on the board. After all of the men have been played they may be moved as in checkers and jumped over adjacent men in an effort of each player to complete the circuit to the bell by his own men and to prevent the completion of a circuit by his opponents.

When a player jumps a man prior to playing all of his men, he cannot at the same turn play a man. When a man is jumped, he is not taken from the board, but is inverted and is a. dead man and cannot be moved or jumped, but may ump another man and then becomes alive. If a dead man can jump more than one man, the player can resurrect as many of his corpses as the men he jumped, at his choice, which must include the one who jumped. A man failing to jump may be executed. After a playersmen are all on the board he may in his turn move any live man to any vacant adjoining square in any direction. When curfew rings, or there are less than seven live men left, the men are taken up and a new round played. Ten points may constitute a game. The number of the counter which completes the circuit and rings the bell is the score made by the player who rings curfew.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that I have invented animproved game-board by means of which an indicating device may be actuated by the location of men on the board in predetermined positions and which is capable of being used to afford entertainment to the players.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a game-board, of an electric indicator, a circuit for said indicator, a conductor at the center of said board, a conductor extending around said board, leads connecting said circuit to each of said conductors, a plurality of separate contacts fixed to said board intermediate of said conductors, and movable men carrying contacts adapted to be placed upon said board in positions to electrically connect said contacts and thereby close said circuit.

2. A combination with a game-board having spaces marked thereon, of contacts fixed to said board extending from one space to the adjacent spaces, movable men adapted to be located on said spaces, a contact carried by each of said men adapted to electrically connect the contacts extending from the space on which the man is placed, and an electric indicating device the circuit of which is closed by a predetermined arrangement of men on the board.

3. The combination with a game-board, of a bell mounted thereon, an electromagnet for operating said bell, .a circuit for said magnet,

separate contacts fixed to said board and EDMUND E. HILE.

Witnesses:

GEO. L. WILKINSON, HATTIE B. LEHMAN. 

